Participants pose at a charity auction held to help the separated family to reunite. [Photo provided to China Daily]

A charity auction held by the Painting and Calligraphy Association of the High School Affiliated to Renmin University raised 250,300 yuan ($35,859) for the China Social Welfare Foundation's Yuanmeng Fund to help the separated family to reunite.

The event received support from nearly 200 enthusiastic guests including industry experts, enterprise representatives and students from various universities. And a total of 25 pieces of ar and calligraphy by students were sold at the auction.

Speaking about the event, Wang Yining, president of the Painting and Calligraphy Association of the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China, said: "We wanted to combine the beauty of art with the beauty of helping others, and so we created a platform that inspired philanthropists and drove them to participate."

All the proceeds from the auction will be used for "Waiting for Me", the first national public welfare program by CCTV, to fight human trafficking and help separated families reunite.

Ou Zhen contributed to this story.